Polish Ambassador to U.S. Admits Abuse of Regulations Aiding Jews

August 29, 1957

WASHINGTON (Aug. 28)

Romuald Spasowski, Polish Ambassador to the United States, admitted today that there were abuses of regulations permitting Jews repatriated from the Soviet Union to occupy premises left by other Jews who had emigrated to Israel.

He made the admission to representatives of the American Jewish Congress who had called to confer on a report, published in the Warsaw Yiddish daily, Folkstimme, that two Jewish families were assaulted in Wroclaw recently when they moved into such an apartment. They were set upon by Poles who beat them and threw their furniture out of the apartment, then moved in themselves. The Polish police and local government authorities did nothing to correct the situation, Folkstimme charged.

The Ambassador told the AJC delegation that acute housing shortages in Poland prompted such “inequities” as the one that led to the assault on the families in Wroclaw. He is returning to Poland, Mr. Spasowski said, and will look into the situation there regarding the treatment given Jewish repatriates.